Railway car end doors

ABSTRACT

An auto railway car having a plurality of decks is provided with a pair of folding door structures for closing the loading end of the car. The doors are hinged on spherical bearing structures and include locking mechanisms for locking the doors in open or closed positions.

The present patent application is related to Application Ser. No.111,561 filed Jan. 14, 1980.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The field of invention relates to auto rack type railway cars and morespecifically pertains to a folding door structure provided at the end ofthe car, which end is utilized for the loading and unloading ofautomobiles.

2. Description of the Prior Art

U.S. Pat. No. 3,911,831 discloses foldable doors provided at the endclosure of a rail car carrying automobiles.

In this particular arrangement outer folding doors are connected on avertical hinge which is provided at the extreme ends of the car. Thefolding door arrangement is also shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,996,860 and inthis case the panels are folded and swung outwardly to the sides or rearends of the car where they are stored in the open position.

Another patent disclosing a hinge arrangement for folding doors is U.S.Pat. No. 4,084,516, Apr. 18, 1978, this patent also showing a verticalpivot folding door arrangement mounted at the extreme ends of therailway car. The hinge arrangement is entirely different from thepresent invention wherein the vertical hinge point is spacedconsiderably inwardly from the end of the car and also spacedconsiderably laterally of the side wall of the car. A hinge arrangement,similar to the above patents is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,938,446,Feb. 17, 1976, which discloses the hinge point at the extreme ends ofthe car and against the side wall thereof with a rack and pinionmovement provided for the folding doors to place them in a flush closedposition. U.S. Pat. No. 3,854,425, Dec. 17, 1974, discloses individualdoor sections for each of the deck arrangements and again a conventionalhinging action for the folding doors is achieved at the end of the carand almost in line with the side wall of the car. In the presentimproved invention an entirely different hinging action is achieved byplacing the hinge point at a certain position and including a novelspherical bearing arrangement. Further the present invention is animprovement over the aforementioned patents and discloses a novellocking mechanism for locking the doors in either open or closedposition.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention of an improved autocarrying railway car includestwo pairs of folding doors which are supported at the loading end of thecar for relative folding and hinging movement from a closed to an openposition. In the present arrangement the folding doors include inner andouter panels with the inner panel being folded initially inwardly andthen outwardly over the end of the outer panel and whereupon the twofolded panels are pivoted into a recessed position substantiallyparallel with the ends of the side walls of the car. In the novelarrangement disclosed the hinges are constructed in the form of V-shapedbrackets having at the apex of each bracket a pivot bearing of sphericalconstruction. Upper and lower brackets are provided and the apex hingingpoint is disposed substantially inwardly of the end of the car and alsosubstantially laterally from the side wall of the car whereupon thedoors are completely recessed within the ends of the car in the openposition and are readily swung outwardly back to a closed position. Thespherical bearing arrangement provides for accurate alignment of thedoors and ease in closing and opening of the same. Further thearrangement also includes a novel door locking mechanism wherein thedoors may be locked either in the open or closed position by means of alatching element which includes a keeper engaging end adapted to beplaced in indexing engagement with a lock plate one of which is providedfor maintaining each of the pairs of doors in either an open or in aclosed position.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one end of a railway car fortransporting autos showing a folding door arrangement in a closedposition;

FIG. 2 is a similar view to FIG. 1 showing the partial opening of thefolding door arrangement;

FIG. 3 is a view showing the end of a railway car with doors in an openand stored position;

FIG. 4 is a rear elevational view of a door arrangement and end of carsimilar to FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 5--5 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 6--6 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 7--7 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a lower hinge structure for a foldingdoor arrangement;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the upper hinge structure for a foldingdoor arrangement;

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a locking arrangement for holding thedoors in a locked position, either open or closed;

FIG. 11 is a view disclosing the locking arrangement in locked relationwith respect to a keeper mechanism.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

As best shown in FIGS. 1-4 a railway car 10 comprises a car body 11including a roof structure 12 supported on side walls 13. The presentrailway car is of a type which is designed especially for the transportof automobiles and the side walls 13 include upright supports 14 whichare supported on longitudinally extending laterally spaced side sills15. The side sills 15 are connected by means of cross bearers 16 whichare longitudinally spaced along the length of the car. The present carincludes the conventional center sill and underframe structure 17 whichis only disclosed generally the same being conventional in the field ofrailway cars. A loading end 18 is provided at one end of the car thoughboth ends of the car may be identical and suitably constructed for theloading and unloading of the automobiles. The car is provided with alower A-deck 19, a B-deck 20 which is intermediately disposed and anupper C-deck 21. The decks are conventionally supported onlongitudinally extending stringers 22 in turn supported from the sidewalls 13 of the car.

As best shown in FIGS. 1-4 a door structure is designated at 23 and eachend includes two pairs, each pair including an inner door panel 24 andan outer door panel 25. Each of the doors includes vertical metalsheathing 26 and suitable vertically spaced and transversely extendinglateral reinforcements 27. The doors are provided with a plurality ofopenings 28 providing for clearance to the railway car `B` and `C` deckbridge plate supports (not shown). The inner door panels 24 and outerdoor panels 25 are connected for hinging movement by means of aplurality of vertically spaced hinge members 29. A handle 30 isconnected to each of the panels 24. The car is provided withconventional guideways or ramps 31 on which the automobiles to betransported are loaded.

As best shown in FIGS. 5, 6 and 7 lower hinge brackets 32 includeV-shaped rear hinge end portions 33 provided at the apex of eachbracket. The hinge brackets have the other forward ends 32' rigidlyconnected to the inner edges of the door panels 25. As best shown inFIG. 8 the ramps 31 also each include a raised longitudinally extendingramp portion 34. Longitudinally extending vertical supports 35 supportthe raised portions 34 from and upon the A-deck 19 which is a metalfloor panel designated at 36. The hinge structure also is best indicatedand shown in FIG. 8 and the raised ramp portion 34 is provided with anaperture or access opening 37. A lower hinge bearing arrangementincludes a connector plate 38 suitably rigidly connected to the uppersurface of the metal floor panel 36. The connector plate 38 hasconnected thereto a vertically extending post 39 having a vertical openend threaded bore 40. A connector pin 41 includes a lower threadedportion 42 which is threaded into the threaded bore 40. A sphericalbearing part 43 includes a bore 43' through which the pin 41 extends andrigidly connects the same to the post 39. A bearing member 44 includesan inner arcuate surface 44' which is supported on the spherical bearing43 in bearing relation. The bearing member 44 is secured to the apex end33 of the hinge bracket 32 by means of a sleeve 45 and thus provides forthe lower swiveling or hinging movement of the said bracket.

FIG. 9 discloses the upper hinging arrangement for the folding doors. Anupper hinge bracket 46 includes an upper flat plate 46' disposed inV-shaped configuration and being provided with an apex portion asdesignated at 33. The bracket 46 is suitably connected to the innersurfaces of the outer door panels 25 at the upper ends thereof. Abearing connector member 47 includes a downwardly projecting pin or post48, the said connector member 47 having access thereto by means of anaccess opening 49. A rigid bracket structure 50 is connected to theunderneath side of the deck 21 and includes a horizontally extendingflat plate portion 51 suitably secured to the said deck 21. A clevisplate 52 is suitably connected to the plate 51 and is provided at itslower end with an opening 53. The post or pin 48 extends through theopening 53. A spherical bearing or bushing member 54 is fitted to thepin 48 and a concave bearing 55 is swiveled on the said sphericalbearing member 54. The concave bearing 55 is connected to an outer ring56 suitably rigidly supporting on the apex end 33 of the hinge bracket46. The lower and upper bearings are of course in proper alignment andprovide a precise end easily movable hinging action for the foldingdoors. They are both also vertically slidable on the posts 41 and 48.

Referring now to FIGS. 4 and 6 a locking arrangement is generallydesignated at 57. Two locking arrangements are provided for each of thepairs of swinging door panels, one which will lock the doors in the openrecessed position and the other which will lock the door in the closedposition. The specific details of the locking arrangement are best shownin FIGS. 10 and 11. FIG. 10 discloses the locking arrangement in theunlocked position whereas FIG. 11 shows the locking arrangement in thelocked position. As best shown in FIGS. 4 through 7 the inner doorpanels are in the closed position seated in centrally located U-shapeddoor retainers 58 which provide for engagement with the inner ends ofthe inner doors. Each of the locking arrangements 57 includes a verticaltubular-shaped housing member 59. A keeper member designated at 60 isrigidly supported on a hollow or pipe-shaped support 57' rigidlyconnected and projecting upwardly with respect to the A-deck 19. Eachkeeper portion 60 includes a vertically extending indexing notch 61having a central enlarged opening 62. The locking arrangement 57 furtherincludes a latch member 63 vertically reciprocal within thetubular-shaped housing 59. The housing 59 includes a bracket 64 whichrigidly connects the same to the innermost edge of the outer panels 25.As best shown in FIG. 10 which discloses a portion broken away at theupper end of the tubular housing 59 a collar 66 is rigidly supportedwithin the housing. A plunger 67 is slidably supported within thehousing 59 and extends through the collar 66 in sliding relation. Thecollar 66 may be formed as part of the tubular housing 59. The upper endof the plunger 67 has a head portion 69 connected thereto and a spring68 is held captive between the collar 66 and head 69 for continuallyurging the plunger 67 to the position indicated in FIG. 10. The plunger67 projects outwardly and downwardly from the tubular housing 59. A slot70 is provided in the lower end of the housing 59 and the said housinghas at its lower end a tapering cam surface 71. As best shown in FIGS.10 and 11 the plunger 67 is provided with outwardly projecting cam wings72 having at their upper ends cam follower portion 72'. In the lockingposition of the plunger 67, as shown in FIG. 11, the cam followerprojections 72' are seated within the recess 80 to deter the plunger 67from moving to an unlocked position. The lower end of the plunger 67 isprovided with an indexing pin 73 which is adapted to move through theslots 61 to the locking position shown in FIG. 11. A collar 74 issupported on the lower end of the plunger 67 and is fixed thereto torotate the plunger 67 as desired. The collar 74 includes an outwardlyprojecting finger 75 and is provided with an opening 76 which may beused to lock the collar against rotation. This is achieved by the lug 81having opening 82 and being connected to keeper member 60. An opening 77is provided in the collar 74 within which a suitable tool may beinserted for rotating collar 74.

The purpose of the cam surface 71 is to lift the door assembly asindicated. This, in effect, vertically unloads the lower pivot bearing,isolating it from potentially damaging forces. The lock is positionedessentially in line with the door assembly center of gravity providingthe required vertical retention. When in an unlocked position, theweight of the doors is supported vertically by the lower bearing andlaterally and longitudinally by both the upper and lower. This featurepermits the acceptance of normal manufacturing tolerances without thenecessity for "fitting" at assembly. Another benefit of the sphericalbearing is their ability to isolate the doors from the normal rackingand parallelogramming experienced with this type of structure. This isaccomplished by the "self-aligning" design.

Operation

FIG. 1 discloses the doors in the closed position. It will be noted thatan upper door 78 also closes the upper space provided at the upper endsof the folding doors. This door and its operation is more specificallydescribed in the aforementioned referred-to patent application. In FIG.2 the doors have been partially opened and in FIG. 3 the lower foldingdoors are in their completely opened and out-of-the-way position. FIGS.5, 6 and 7 also show the sequence of opening of the doors. FIG. 5 showsthe pair of folding doors in completely closed position. Upondisengagement of the latch member 57 from the keeper arrangement thedoors can be moved into the position indicated in FIG. 6 which isslightly open and whereupon the inner door panel 24 is then swung in thedirection of the arrow shown in FIG. 6, which is clockwise, to theposition shown in dotted lines in FIG. 6 (against the door 25) whereuponthe fully folded door arrangement now can be moved to the completelyrecessed position shown in FIG. 7. In this position the folded doors arecompletely out of the way and recessed within the open end of the car.FIG. 7 also shows the latch 57 in engagement with a keeper portion 60and the operation of the locking arrangement will now be described.

The locking plunger 67 is normally in the position shown in FIG. 10which is the unlocked position. In practice, of course, the doors areeither locked in the recessed position open or are locked in the closedposition closed. The spring 68 normally moves the plunger 67 to theposition shown in FIG. 10 whereupon the cam wings 72 are recessed withinthe slots 70. To move the locking plunger 67 to the position shown inFIG. 11 the same is moved downwardly by means of the operator moving thecollar 74 downwardly by inserting a suitable tool into opening 77. As hemoves it downwardly against the force of the spring the indexing pin 73is is alignment and moves through the slots 61 below the keeper portion60 whereupon the collar is turned and the indexing pin 73 assumes theposition shown in FIG. 11 firmly locking the plunger 67 against upwardretraction. As this position is reached and the collar is turned, theupper cam follower surfaces 72' of the cam wing 72 engage the underneathside of the sloping cam 71 so that upon turning movement the tubularhousing as well as the door itself has a tendency to move in a limitedfashion upwardly whereupon the whole weight of the door is then on thekeeper 60 and the indexing pin is firmly locked against opening movementwhether the door is locked in the transit or loading position. Theopening 76 may be suitably utilized for locking of the lock when it isdesired to lock the doors completely such as while the cars are beingstored or are in transit.

One of the major goals achieved by this design is ease in opening andsubsequent closing. Some designs use tracks for guiding the units wherea great amount of friction is generated making operation difficult. Thespherical bearings have been employed for their low frictioncharacteristics in addition to their ability to "self-align" minimizingfriction causing misalignment.

What is claimed is:
 1. In a railway car having a body including side walls and a roof structuresaid body having a loading end and lower and upper cargo supporting horizontal decks adapted to be loaded with cargo through said loading end the improvement comprising; a door arrangement including a pair of door structure ends including inner and outer vertical door panels first hinge means interconnecting said inner and outer door panels, second hinge means including lower and upper hinge brackets rigidly connected to said outer door panels, each said hinge bracket having a hinge end portion spaced a substantial distance inwardly from said outer door panels, pivot means for connecting each said hinge end portion to said upper and lower decks comprising spherical bearing members for providing universal movement, and said pivot means for connecting each said hinge end portion to said upper and lower decks located a substantial distance inwardly from an adjacent side wall and inwardly from the loading end of said body whereby said inner and outer vertical door panels may be folded together and rotated about said hinge ends to a position parallel to an adjacent side wall.
 2. The door arrangement in accordance with claim 1,one inner panel being hingedly movable in clockwise direction against an outer surface of said outer panel, and said other inner panel being movable in counterclockwise direction.
 3. The door arrangement in accordance with claim 1,including means locking said door structure in closed and open positions.
 4. The door arrangement in accordance with claim 1,said upper hinge bracket being connected to said upper deck to project downwardly with respect thereto, and said lower hinge bracket being connected to said lower deck and projecting upwardly with respect thereto.
 5. The door arrangement in accordance with claim 4,said upper and lower decks including hinge bracket supporting members, and said pivot means including cooperating spherical bearing members supported on said hinge bracket supporting members.
 6. The door arrangement in accordance with claim 5,including locking means on said decks for locking said door in a closed and open position.
 7. The door arrangement in accordance with claim 1,said pivot means for each said hinge end portion being spaced from said loading end and from said adjacent side wall substantially of equal distance.
 8. The door arrangement in accordance with claim 7,said pivot means comprising spherical interengaging bearing members.
 9. The door arrangement in accordance with claim 8,including a locking latch on each door structure, a keeper member adjacent said side wall on said lower deck, and a second keeper member on said lower deck spaced inwardly from said side wall and being substantially contiguous to a rearward end of said lower deck, said latch being adapted to engage each said keeper member to maintain said doors in closed and open positions. 